When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, suspicion fell on German Americans. Anti-German sentiment led to the prohibition of teaching German in schools, the closure of many German-language newspapers, and persecution for speaking German in public or on the phone. Many German Americans suffered from this unfair prejudice. North Dakota had a significant population of people of German descent, the largest being the Germans from Russia, who numbered about 70,000. Many of them farmed in close-knit communities in the south-central region of the state.
Professor Alfred Koenig of the University of Minnesota was born in Germany in 1885 and came to the United States around 1904. He joined the University of Minnesota in 1909 to teach German. His parents and siblings still lived in Germany and suffered greatly after World War I began in 1914. Four of his brothers died fighting in the German army. His father became a political prisoner, and his mother died from despair.
Professor Koenig was determined to serve his new country. On this date in 1917, the Fargo Forum announced that he would soon be arriving in North Dakota to speak to German-speaking communities about the importance of America’s efforts in the war and to raise funds for the Red Cross.
Koenig took on his mission with enthusiasm. In just 30 days, he visited ten counties and gave 98 speeches, mostly in German. In some of the communities he visited, he was greeted by mayors and bands. His talks were well attended, and most attendees donated to the Red Cross after hearing him speak.
Koenig was pleased with the outcome of his trip and believed that the German Americans he met were loyal. He empathized with their ties to their homeland, especially those who had family fighting in Germany. He stated, “In many districts, I found the people unfamiliar with the real facts of the war situation. Ignorance of what the war is about is often interpreted as disloyalty.” Koenig returned to North Dakota many times to continue speaking with German-speaking communities and became very popular. In June 1918, six hundred people attended a speech he gave in Fessenden.
After the war, Koenig left the university to develop the Americanization program for the YMCA. He continued assisting immigrants through the YMCA until his death in 1933.
Dakota Datebook by Trista Raezer-Stursa
Sources:
- Author Unknown. “600 People at Fessenden Meet.” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. June 6, 1918, pg. 5.
- Author Unknown. “Dr. Alfred Koenig, Noted Educator, Dies in Parade.” The Minneapolis Journal. August 31, 1933, pgs. 17, 19.
- Author Unknown. “German, His Folks Swept to Death in Kaiser’s Mad Gamble, to Speak.” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. October 17, 1917, pg. 1.
- Author Unknown. “Red Cross Notes.” The Bismarck Tribune. May 8, 1918, pg. 5.
- Author Unknown. “Speaker finds North Dakota Germans Loyal.” The Minneapolis Journal. November 22, 1917, pg. 9.
- Iseminger, Gordon L. “Are We Germans, or Russians, or Americans? The McIntosh County German-Russians During World War I.” North Dakota History 82, no. 2 (2017): 3-18.
